


Games we play

by Melacka



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Liz is amused, One Shot, Red is annoyed, Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:39:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melacka/pseuds/Melacka
Summary: Of all the unusual or downright inconvenient places she’d had to visit since she started working with Red, the DMV was simultaneously the most mundane and most unexpected of the bunch. Luckily, Red looked as irritated as she felt, which lifted her spirits somewhat.Or, Liz flirts with Glen to annoy Red. Spoiler alert: It works like a charm.





	Games we play

Liz pushed open the door to the DMV grumpily and scanned the room for Red. She couldn’t believe that she was here. Of all the unusual or downright inconvenient places she’d had to visit since she started working with Red, the DMV was simultaneously the most mundane and most unexpected of the bunch. Mainly for the special irritation she felt attending the damn place without any business of her own to transact. A vague summons from Red and she must appear. No one went to the DMV without a reason and yet here she was.

_Damn him_ , she thought miserably.

She caught sight of Dembe and exchanged a nod of greeting with him as she started to weave her way through the disgruntled mass of humanity around her towards Red. He looked as irritated as she felt, which lifted her spirits somewhat. When she saw him check his watch impatiently, her mood improved so much so that when she plopped down in the seat next to him, she was able to greet him with a cheery, “Morning!”

“Good morning, Lizzy,” Red replied calmly, passing her a cup of coffee. “Thank you for joining me in the insufferable cesspit of despair.”

“Always a pleasure, Red!” she said in a voice so exuberant it made him glance at her suspiciously. She grinned and took a sip of her coffee and then said, “Aaaaah!” as obnoxiously as she could manage.

“You’re certainly in a better mood than the last time I saw you,” Red said dryly, taking a sip from his cup. “What can have prompted such a remarkable transformation?”

“It’s just this place!” Liz gushed. “I mean, who doesn’t love the DMV?”

He almost choked on his coffee and looked at her in shock.

“Lizzy—” he sputtered. “What on earth?”

“Oh, Red, looks like you’re being waved in!” Liz interrupted him, noticing Glen gesturing at them from his office. “Damn, I was really hoping we’d get to spend a solid hour in these chairs. They’re just so comfortable!”

“Elizabeth,” Red said sternly as he stood up, “please try to take this seriously.”

“What makes you think I’m not?” Liz asked sincerely, standing up and facing him. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Red stepped back and waved her ahead of him. “You really must learn to see the lighter side of things, Red,” she chided gently as she passed him. “Find the joy a little more, you know?”

She was very pleased to hear the irritated intake of breath this caused, and she smirked the whole way as she sauntered across the room. When she walked into Glen’s office, he directed a broad grin at her.

“I was wondering if you’d show today,” he said cheerfully.

“Of course, I did,” Red said impatiently from behind her as he closed the door with a bang. “I’ve been out there for over 20 minutes, Glen, you know I’ve—”

“Not you,” Glen replied dismissively, and Liz stifled a laugh at the look of suppressed rage on Red’s face. “I’m talking about your fair lady, here.”

“My _fair lady_?” Red said incredulously, turning to look at Liz to see how she would react. She only grinned at him, very pleased with the direction the meeting had taken.

“Aren’t you sweet?” Liz simpered at Glen and he gave a quick wink of acknowledgment. “Red, why didn’t you tell me how charming he is?”

Red glared at her and didn’t reply, sitting down with a huff. Liz lowered herself to the seat next to him and smiled brilliantly at Glen, batting her eyes a little for good measure.

“Afraid of the competition, old man?” Glen murmured, leering at him.

Red made a noise of disgust and Liz bit her lip hard to keep from laughing.

“Why do you spend so much time with him, anyway?” Glen continued, ignoring Red completely and turning his attention to Liz. “A beautiful young woman like yourself—”

“Glen!” Red burst out angrily. “You deal with me, you do _not_ harass my associates—”

“Associate? Is that all you are to him?” Glen continued placidly, staring across the table at Liz who was almost in pain from trying to stop the laughter threatening to escape her. “You could be so much more. Come work with me—”

“Glen!”

“We could be great together—”

“Enough!” Red thundered. “Do you have the information I asked for? It is a matter of _some_ urgency and I do not have an endless number of hours to waste here—”

“Temper, temper,” Glen scolded. “I’m sorry you’ve got such _poor_ time management that you come here in such a rush, but _some_ of us have other things going on in our lives. _Some_ people are just trying to make an honest living.”

“So inconsiderate,” Liz murmured sympathetically. “Who does he think he is, anyway? Swanning around in those fancy suits of his.” She waved her hand dismissively and said conspiratorially, “I don’t know how a man of your brilliance can even stand to work with him.”

“I just care too much,” Glen explained seriously. “It’s a curse, really.”

“You poor thing,” Liz said with a sad little shake of her head. “But we really can’t do this without you.”

“True.”

“This is absurd,” Red said, getting up from his chair and starting to stalk up and down the room like a caged animal. “You are doing this to _irritate_ me—”

“Not everything is about you, Red.”

“This is just your favourite little game—”

“This rampant narcissism of yours is becoming something of a problem.”

“You just like to see me get worked up!”

“I know I always enjoy it,” Liz said quietly and Red whipped around to look at her so dramatically that she finally cracked and burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, Red, but this is just too perfect.” She stood up and leaned her hands on Glen’s desk, bending forward deliberately to gain his full attention. “We’d just be so _grateful_ if you would help us out with this,” she said huskily.

“Well—” Glen said thoughtfully. “I do have a lot on my plate—”

“I know,” she crooned. “But it really takes someone _special_ to do this.”

“Oh, please,” Red said from behind her, sounding absolutely disgusted. “Glen—”

“I’ll do it,” he said, still looking at Liz. “For you.”

He winked at her and she traced a hand slowly down his cheek.

“Thank you.”

“Yes, _thank you_ ,” Red said sarcastically. “I expect to hear from you by the end of the day.”

“Hmm,” Glen said dreamily as Liz gave his cheek a little tap and then moved to join Red at the door.

“Shall we?” she said to Red, smiling innocently at him.

He regained his composure with a visible effort and nodded. Liz waved goodbye to Glen then preceded Red out of the office. Red casually took hold of her elbow as they began to move quickly through the crowd towards the exit.

“I could have gone my entire life without seeing that little display, Lizzy,” he said in an undertone.

“What display, Red?”

“Your little tête-à-tête with Glen,” Red said, practically whispering now. “I would have thought such things were beneath you.”

“Honestly, Red, I was just trying to help. You didn’t seem to be making much progress with him.”

“I could have achieved the same result without you needing to—”

“How can you be sure?” Liz interrupted him. “And why does it matter anyway?”

They’d reached the front door and Dembe pushed it open, scanning the street as they followed him out.

“It doesn’t matter,” Red said resignedly. “But rest assured I will not suffer you to come here again.”

“Are you going to deprive me of Glen’s company?” she said with a laugh. “Are you trying to punish me?”

“Lizzy,” he sighed. “This has been a trying morning and there is still much to do, so perhaps we could—”

“Wait,” Liz said suddenly, halting her steps and turning to face him. “Are you jealous? Is that what this is?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Red scoffed. “Jealousy is a wasted emotion and certainly not one I ever entertain.”

“You are! You’re jealous!” Liz said, grinning at him. She took a step closer to him and leaned her face towards him. “There’s no reason to feel threatened by Glen, Red.” He narrowed his eyes at her and she quirked an eyebrow at him. “My relationship with him is completely separate from my relationship with you. I just like to see you get all worked up.”

He leaned in even closer to her and murmured, “You don’t want to play this game with me, Elizabeth.”

“And what game should I play with you, Raymond?” she said daringly, leaning so close to him now that their lips were almost touching. She saw a flash of emotion in his eyes at her use of his first name, but it was gone in a second and she couldn’t be sure what it meant. “Let me know when you figure it out.”

“Elizabeth—”

“We should do this again sometime,” she said as she stepped back. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

“Lizzy—”

“Bye, Red,” she said with a smirk before turning away and meandering down the street. Her day was suddenly seeming a whole lot brighter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read/leave kudos/comment. It really does make my day!


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